Family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation
A French randomised controlled trial found that offering family members the opportunity to observe when a close relative receives cardiopulmonary resuscitation has a positive effect on family members’ psychological outcome.

Men’s health interventions in football clubs
A programme of men’s health interventions delivered in football clubs may lead to improvements in healthy behaviours in men who might not otherwise engage with health services.

Corticosteroids for exacerbations of COPD
A randomised controlled trial has found that a 5-day course of systemic corticosteroids is not inferior to 14-day treatment in people presenting to hospital with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Sacrocolpopexy with Burch colposuspension in pelvic organ prolapse
A 7-year follow-up of a randomised controlled trial suggests that failure of sacrocolpopexy increases at a similar rate in women with or without a concurrent Burch colposuspension, but colposuspension appears to prevent stress incontinence for longer. There may be long-term risks of mesh erosion.

Women’s perspectives on overdiagnosis in screening for breast cancer
A qualitative study in Australia found that women know little about overdiagnosis in breast cancer screening and are likely to reconsider their views on screening when the risk of overdiagnosis is presented as high.

Acute cough in adults and managing patient expectations of antibiotic prescribing
A NICE Medicines Evidence Commentary reports that adults expect acute cough to last for about 7 to 9 days, although acute cough typically lasts for around 3 weeks, in line with the timescales in NICE guidance on antibiotic prescribing in acute cough. 

Case study from the Quality, Improvement, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) collection
We highlight one new example from the QIPP collection demonstrating how NHS organisations have implemented new local practices that have both cut costs and improved quality.

• Saving money and increasing quality by improving referral practice through peer-reviewed referral management